Duty Calls
by CheerfulChemist
Summary: This is a one-shot that follows the episode of The Rookie called Homefront. John is unexpectantly getting to spend some time with Jessica, but gets called in when the city faces a major emergency. The image is by @Artifex Prime


Duty Calls

John is dog-tired, but as part of his agreement with Ben, he has work to do at the house. It isn't much, but after going through fighting a lawsuit, dealing with a T.O. who seemed both depressed and distracted, and surviving a near-death experience, he hasn't got much energy left to fix a leaking faucet and trim a few shrubs.

As soon as he stows his tools, he's about to grab whatever edible is closest out of the refrigerator before retreating to his bed for the night, when Jessica knocks on the sliding glass door of his guest house.

Exhausted as he is, to say that he's glad to see her would be an understatement. Between his legal problems, embarrassment at judging his lawyer by his age, and Bishop's dark mood, he can use her brand of sunshine. "I thought you had to be in DC."

"The conference ended early - unofficially at least. A problem came up with the hotel's liquor license, and they stopped being able to serve booze. A lot of the attendees and a couple of the speakers took off. I'd already done my presentation and heard the ones I wanted to hear, so I decided to drop in on my favorite rookie."

"Can I get you something?" John offers. "I have some beer. Ben bought it; it's the good stuff. My leftover Chinese is only two days old, or I could make some burgers."

"Sounds delicious, but my plane had a layover in Vegas, and it was either eat or feed coins into the machines at that casino masquerading as an airport. Eating was cheaper. You look worn out John, and what happened to your forehead?"

John flushes. "Over a fence and head first into a cactus plant."

"Prickly situation."

"Right. And Bishop reminded me of her multiple warnings not to go over a fence unless I knew what was on the other side, but it all worked out, at least until I was served with a subpoena while a nurse was yanking out the spines."

"Double ouch, but it is part of the job, John."

"So I've been told, but it's been a rough couple of days. Anyway, you're here, so things are looking up. And when it comes to looking up, I set up a telescope. I got into astronomy a little when Henry was working on his merit badge. There are a lot fewer cloudy nights in LA than there are where I lived in Pennsylvania. And this house is far enough away from the brighter lights of the city so that it's possible to get a decent view of the stars. Usually, my day off is on Monday when the Griffith Observatory is closed, so it's nice to have my own scope. It's going to be dark soon. Would you like to do a little stargazing?"

"That depends."

"Depends on what?"

"Can we make out while we wait for the stars to appear?"

John kisses the top of her head. "Sounds good to me, but you know, in Spring, the best time to see the Milky Way is the pre-dawn hours."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I have my suitcase with me."

John grins. "I imagine we can find something to do with ourselves tonight."

* * *

At first, when his phone sounds off at 4 a.m., Nolan assumes that it's the alarm he set for his milky way watch with Jessica - but it's the wrong ring. Grey is calling him in for God knows what. He kisses the still sleeping Jessica on the temple and pulls on his clothes before hesitating a moment about what to write in the note he leaves for her. He doesn't have to apologize for going to work. Jessica will understand his duty, but he is sorry he didn't get to share the stars with her. He can express his hope that she'll be around long enough to give him another chance.

* * *

"We've had a major incident," Grey announces to the officers assembled in the roll call room, momentarily fixing Bishop in his gaze. "A gas main exploded. The last earthquake may have weakened it. That has yet to be determined, but it blew right next to Temple B'nai Abraham, sending it up in flames, along with some of the nearby homes. As some of you may know, orthodox Jews often buy houses within a mile of a synagogue. They walk to services on Friday nights and Saturdays because they view it as a violation of the Sabbath to drive. A youth group was also having a sleepover at the temple. We have no casualty count yet, but it's going to be bad.

"Until we know otherwise, we'll be treating the explosion as a terror attack. Even if it was an accident, a lot of people are going to view it that way. We are going to have to keep a lid on things. That means crowd control at the scene and at protests, and guarding against possible reprisals. The media is going to be all over this, including the nutbars pushing conspiracy theories, so watch yourselves. The last thing the L.A.P.D. needs is to have its officers splashed all over cable news or going viral on YouTube. Goldfarb, you speak Hebrew don't you?"

"Yes, Sir, and Yiddish."

"Good. I want you at the scene with Bluestone. Try to keep things as calm as you can."

"Yes, Sir."

"And Jansen, I want you to take point near the Islamic Center. If some hotheads decide to protest - or worse - against what they believe is terrorism, that's probably where they'll start. If that happens, we'll need to keep things from escalating. Call for as much backup as you think you might need. You too, Goldfarb. And Burdick, I want you covering the Sikh temple. Some idiots go after them too whenever anyone shouts terrorist.

Officer Maloof raises his hand. "Sir, there may be an additional problem stemming from the name of the synagogue, B'nai Abraham. That can be translated as children of Abraham, which is a title some in the Arab community feel should belong just as much, if not more, to them - from the Isaac and Ishmael scriptures. There may be some hotheads out there who will feel that the explosion is deserved somehow and heat things up further. It might help if I stay in touch with Goldfarb and Jensen. I speak Arabic. If a situation like that arises, I might be able to help cool things down."

"All right," Grey agrees. "Everyone take note of what Officer Maloof just told us. Now, now get out there, keep your eyes open and stay on your radios. As information develops, I'll get it to you. And be careful out there."

* * *

"You OK, Nolan?" Bishop asks as he's driving through the streets

"Yes. No. I keep thinking about the kids who were at the synagogue. Henry used to do sleepovers with his youth group at our church before they'd go on a mission trip the next day to build a ramp for a paraplegic or a fence in the backyard of an autistic kid who needed a safe place to play. The staff was always there to chaperone, and I never thought he wouldn't be safe. I was proud of him for being there. And if anything had happened - I don't know how I would have gotten through it. And the parents of those kids might be losing their homes as well as their children. I can't even begin to imagine what they might be feeling."

Bishop sets her jaw. "Look, Nolan, I know empathy is your thing, and it's one of your strong suits, but right now you can't have that on your mind. If trouble breaks out I need you 100 percent in the game."

"Right. Hey, what's going on over there? Are those men trying to loot that store?"

"Good catch. Let's find out."

Nolan shakes his head as he crosses the street. "I don't think Maloof would be able to help with these jerks unless he also speaks asshole." The sign, on a window heavily tattooed skinheads are smashing, identifies the shop as a Middle Eastern grocery. "And I doubt these guys are indulging a sudden craving for hummus."

"Put down the bats, now!" Bishop orders.

One of the men turns to Nolan. "Are you going to let this n***** bitch give us orders?"

"Actually giving orders is her job, and she's extremely good at it. But if you prefer a pasty white male, I'll give you an order." Nolan draws his gun. "Lean against what's left of that window and put your hands behind your heads."

* * *

"I would have loved to see you taze at least one of them," Nolan admits to Bishop as they put their two prisoners into holding. They deserved it."

"I've heard the words before, Nolan. Responding might have felt good for a second, but I could have never justified it. And right now I have enough problems."

"Is that what the strange look you got from Grey was about? Problems?"

"That situation has nothing to do with you, Boot, and I'm not about to drag you into it. Right now we need to get back to our shop and do our jobs. It's going to be a busy day, so move it."

"Yes, Ma'am."

* * *

Grey's announcement comes over Bishop's radio eight hours later. There was no evidence that a bomb set off the explosion. The theory of the investigators both from both the gas company and the fire department is that the quake caused a slow leak, allowing gas to build up under the street. It could have been ignited by anything, but no terrorism was involved.

When John finally makes it back to the guest house, it's empty. He sighs in resignation. No doubt Jessica had to take off for a presentation or whatever her next triumph will be, but when he goes in search of desperately needed food, he spots her note on the refrigerator door. She went out to get a pizza at Giovanni's, right down the beach. His grin reflects off the shiny enamel surface. He can wait a little longer to eat - and for whatever starshine comes next.


End file.
